Lighting Moving Characters in Animation

The three point lighting system works well with a static scene. But how do you light a scene in which characters are moving? Here are some hints from professionals:

• The primary light (key light) should not move nor should it appear to move (unless the primary light source is actually moving in the scene), i.e., you do not want to attach light sources to a character. Remember when the primary light source moves, the cast shadows move as well. When the primary light source is the sun or an interior light (e.g., a floor light or ceiling light), if it moves or its shadows move, it will look unnatural and will catch the viewer's eyes in an undesirable way.
• Add rim lights so that the moving characters are separated from the background at any point of the animation.
• Add fill lights so that the shadowy parts of the characters are not too dark at any point of the animation.
• Add extra lights on the characters' faces to show the reflections of the lights from light sources or bounced lights since in most cases the materials (shaders) you apply to skins have no reflectivity, although our real skins have reflectivity.
• Cheat. Don't have to obey the law of physics as long as the lighting looks realistic.